Author's Note 1: Okay, so after all that heavy drama, it's time for another fun chapter while also setting up the Inner Circle Arc!

Chapter 18: The Majestic

Akane Beach was one of the most popular beach resorts in all of Fiore, well-known for its five-star hotel, joint amusement park, casino and large beach. Hundreds of visitors were enjoying themselves while a certain Fairy Tail team was changing into their swimwear.

"Juvia, you ready?" Lucy asked as she stood outside of the changing booth. The blonde was wearing a daring white & pink bikini that highlighted her curves.

"Just about." The water wizard said before pulling the curtain back. Her swimsuit consisted of a frilly purple bikini top with white polka dots and a matching bottom covered by a short skirt.

"Cute choice." Lucy commented, making the blue-haired wizard a bit bashful.

"Well, I have been saving it for a special occasion." She stated, wondering how Zeke would react to it.

"You guys ready to go?" The two turned and saw Alyssa wearing an orange one-piece swimsuit, the garment tightly embracing her muscular physique. Seeing this made the two retreat to a corner with twin emo auras.

"Suddenly, I feel very inadequate." Juvia glumly stated.

"I know what you mean." Lucy replied as Alyssa looked on, confused at her friend's behaviour.

Meanwhile, with the guys...

'Loki was right.' Zeke said as put on a pair of green & black swim pants. 'This is like a bra for a guy's junk.'

"Hurry up, Zeke! Time's a wastin'!" Natsu yelled.

"Alright, alright." The archer answered and existed the changing room. He saw that Natsu had tied his scarf around his forehead like a bandana and was wearing red swim trunks, Happy was wearing yellow trunks and a swim cap, and Alexander was wearing a dark blue speedo. The guys took their beach supplies and set up their spot.

"Hey guys!" The guys turned and saw the girls approach them. And upon seeing the swimsuit-clad Juvia, Zeke quickly covered his nose from shooting blood.

"Z-Zeke, are you okay?" A concerned Juvia asked, blushing as she looked at his shirtless torso.

"Yup. Just a sec." The archer replied, quickly wiping away the blood before looking at the water wizard with a blush. "You look...nice."

"Thanks." She said with a bashful smile. "You too."

"You loooooove each other!" Happy said, making the two blush even more.

"Looking good, Alyssa!" Natsu whistled.

"Thanks, babe." The amazon said as she embraced her boyfriend. Juvia looked in confusion as it appeared like the air around the couple was sparkling.

"Natsu."

"Alyssa."

As the two repeated each other's names, Juvia turned to her fellow guildmates with a titled head. "Does this happen a lot?"

"Yes." Zeke, Lucy and Happy sighed while Alexander chuckled. After Natsu & Alyssa snapped out of their 'couple trance', the group decided to have a boys vs girls volleyball game (Natsu & Zeke vs Alyssa & Lucy) while Juvia, Happy and Alexander watched from the sidelines. The game proceeded normally (or as normal as one gets with wizards), until Alyssa spiked the ball hard.

"I got..." Natsu yelled until he was smacked by the ball and collided with Zeke, the two falling on each other. And while this wasn't a big deal to them, a certain water wizard looked at them and had a different...interpretation.

Juvia's Imagination...

The air sparkled around the two, a very bishonen-looking Natsu looking down at his friend with concern. "Are you alright? I didn't hurt you, did I?"

An equally bishonen-looking Zeke turned away with a light blush. "N-No, I'm fine."

"Good. I couldn't bare to see you hurt." Natsu said as the two looked in each other's eyes.

What actually happened...

"I thought you had it!" Zeke yelled as he pushed Natsu off him.

"Sorry about that." Natsu said as he dusted the sand off of himself.

"That's 10-9!" Alyssa cheered as she and Lucy high-fived each other.

"Not for long!" Natsu yelled as he quickly served the ball again, the game continuing as Alexander looked on in amusement while a confused Happy was poking a steam-covered and daydreaming Juvia with a stick.

After the game had ended with Natsu & Zeke winning, the group continued their day at the beach. From sand castle building to swimming, the group took a break, Lucy & Alexander going to get snacks for the group.

"You know, you've been spending a lot of time with us." Lucy said to Alexander as the two walked back to the group with an armful of snacks. "Any reason for that?"

Alexander just shrugged. "To be honest, Marianne was the one who insisted I spend some time with you guys. Something about hanging out with people my own age."

Before Lucy could ask him to more, she suddenly heard someone yell...

"YOU!" The two celestial wizards turned and saw two brown-haired brothers glaring at Alexander. "You're the one-eyed bastard that robbed us!"

"What?" Alexander said with a deadpan expression.

"It was two years ago? A yacht off the coast of Tarune?" The other brother asked in anger.

"You're gonna have to more specific. I've plunged a lot of yacht." Alexander replied, making Lucy sweat drop.

"Wait, is that the guy who robbed me?!" A woman yelled.

"Holy crap it is!" Her boyfriend yelled. The two wizards a large group of angry people approaching them, or Alexander to be more specific.

"Well, Lucy. It seems like you'll have to bring the food. I gonna have to deal with this." Alexander said as he piled the snacks onto Lucy's pile, making her wobble a bit. The blue-haired pirate looked at the gathered group of anger people he robbed with a serious expression before pointing into the distance. "Oh my Celestial King! There's a couple of different social classes making love in public!"

The rich folk turned around, giving Alexander a chance to run away. When the mob realized this, they started chasing after the former pirate while Lucy watched in stunned silence before walking towards the rest of her friends, who were currently burying Alyssa up to her head.

"I got lunch!" Lucy said, getting their attention.

"Awesome!" Natsu said. Zeke however noticed the missing blue-haired wizard.

"Where's Alex?"

"He had to deal with some...old friends." Lucy said with a sweat-drop. The group was about to ask her more, until they saw Alexander running from the people he robbed.

"Oh come on! Like you needed all of that money!" Alexander yelled as he continued to run away.

"Should we help him?" Juvia asked.

"He's got this." Natsu replied. And just as the dragon-slayer stated, Alexander managed to lose his pursuers and the group continued their day until the sunset. After which, they retreated to their rooms and started getting ready for a night at the casino.

"Come on, Zeke! Let's go!" The salmon-haired wizard (who was dressed in a red dress shirt, long brown khakis, black dress shoes and his scarf around his neck) said as he knocked on the door. Alyssa stood next to him (who had her hair in a bun and was wearing an orange dress with a matching jacket and flat shoes), tapping her foot impatiently while Happy sat on her shoulders.

"You're not gonna wear that again, are you?" The amazon asked.

"Hey guys!" The group turned and saw Lucy (who had her hair in a ponytail and was wearing a green dress), Alexander (who was wearing a dark blue suit and black gloves), and Juvia (who was wearing a dark red dress with a golden Fairy Tail emblem necklace) walked towards them.

"Hi guys." Happy answered.

"Where's Zeke?" Juvia asked.

"I'm ready to go!" The six turned and saw the aforementioned archer walk out of his room. The brunette wore a black three-piece suit, dress shoes, white gloves with his pendant around his left wrist, a monocle over his right eye, a black top hat and a cane in his right hand.

"What?" Lucy asked with a deadpan expression.

"Don't you think you're overdoing it?" Alyssa said with a sigh.

"It's called appropriate attire." Zeke replied before winking at Juvia, making the water wizard blush. "Anyway, let's hit the casino!"

"Aye!" Happy replied as Natsu and Alyssa linked arms, the group heading for the casino for a night of gambling and fun.

And then...

"Come on, 17!" Natsu cheered as he watched the ball rumble machine. So far he had two other 17s on the top right and bottom left. All he needed was the center ball to be 17 and he would win.

"Don't be mean, 17!" Happy chanted with him.

"Come on, 17, 17, 17, 17!" The dragon-slayer cheered as the last ball stopped on the display. But much to his irritation, the number that appeared was 37. "Screw you 37!" Natsu yelled, slamming his head against the display console.

Meanwhile, Zeke, Lucy and Juvia were at the card table while Alexander was taking a spin at the roulette. As this was happening, Alyssa was looking for an open game. She then heard a bunch of groaning and turned, seeing a crowd gathered around a table. On one side were three men in an arm-wrestling match with a large musclebound man with black hair, a matching beard, and a suit. With a yell, the large man slammed his hand down, causing the three men to groan in pain.

"HAHA!" The bearded man gloated. "That's what you get for taking on the Mighty Brutus! Now pay up!"

The crowd and the defeated men gave over their betting money to the large Brutus. "Anyone else want to try and beat me?" Alyssa looked at the large man and smiled before walking towards the table.

"I'd like to try." She said, making the crowd and the arm-wrestler look at her in surprise, especially since Brutus was three heads larger than her.

"Ha! You think you can handle Brutus, lady?"

"I'm betting 3,000 Jewels I can." The orange-haired woman said, placing the money on the table. Brutus smirked and bet the same amount of jewels on the table.

"Don't go crying when you lose, honey." Brutus said as he put his arm up on the table. Alyssa just smirked and took off her jacket, stunning the onlookers with her muscular physique as she sat down and grabbed Brutus' hand. The referee blew a whistle and the two started their match. Brutus started to push against his orange-haired opponent, but much to his shock, the woman didn't even flinch. Then with a simple push, Alyssa slammed her hand down and sent Brutus down in shock.

"So, I'll take my winnings then." Alyssa said with a smirk.

"Y-You just took me by surprise." Brutus groaned. "Double or nothing!"

"Sure thing." The amazon stated with a smirk. Within a matter of seconds, Alyssa had beat Brutus, leaving the crowd baffled. This happened five more times, leaving Brutus clutching his arm in pain while Alyssa raked in her winnings.

"Hail to the Queen, baby!" The speed wizard gloated.

And then...

After a few hours at the casino, the wizards retired to their rooms. Lucy had changed into her pajamas the laid down on her bed. She thought about how her life had turned, how she went from having a lonely childhood and that now she had an expanding group of friends and other associates with the rest of the guild. She looked at her Celestial Arm as it was placed on the nearby night table. Alexander and the others had promised to help her with her training. However, her train of thought was interrupted by the sound of bed springs coming from the room next to hers. In a bout of curiosity, she placed her eyes against the wall and soon a blush came across her cheeks as she heard moaning from both a man and a woman. But Lucy suddenly realized that she recognized the voices of a certain couple she knew.

With her entire body turned red, the blonde celestial wizard covered her ears with her pillow and went under the blanket. 'Why does this keep happening?!' She yelled in her mind, thinking back to her encounter with Alexander and Mirajane in the guild's archives, only the naughty stuff was actually happening instead her just assuming it was.

In another part of Fiore, a group of poachers were moving through the forest. While the poachers carried swords and pistols, the largest of them was pulling a cage with a child inside of it. The boy had silver hair, bruised pale skin and amber eyes. His outfit consisted of torn brown clothing, the torn-up back of his shirt revealing two large silver wing tattoos. While the boy could not speak (the poachers would quiet him if he made any noise), he felt the pain and sadness from his capture. He looked up at the star-filled sky, wanting more than anything to be free and flying. But it seemed fate had other plans for young boy.

To be continued...

Author's Note 2: Not my longest chapter, but sometimes we can all use a short little romp to have some fun, fanservice (for the male, female, homo and bi audience) and comedy before the action. Also, I've decided to spot doing the chibi previews thing for the time being because I've honestly run out of ideas for it.

P.S. Yes, I am going to update To Protect and Serve. And if you guys have the spare time and are fans of the Black Knight or Al Ewing, please check out my new fic, The Avalonian Avenger!

Next Time: Forrest Encounter! Be sure to read, favorite, review and support this story by editing the TV Tropes page! See ya later!